Tall Ship and Lighthouse - Altered Book Sculpture + Cheese Enchilada (Quick) Recipe

I have finally finished the piece that I created for the Altered Book contest and display over at Two Hands Paperie. I had such fun making it. I had never created a book sculpture before, but I have a long history of making small scale replicas out of paper. Making the lighthouse and the ship were pretty easy. Creating the water, now that was a challenge. I loved doing it all.

Ethan worked a bit with me to make sure that the ropes on my tiny ship were in the correct places, even though I do not have as many ropes as a real ship would have. He said that he would post a picture of this on his Facebook page and that his shipmate friends, especially the boatswains, would really like it. Thus, we had to make it as realistic as was reasonable to do so. We had detailed discussions about wind direction and how the sails would respond. We talked about the water and the waves. Creating those was the most challenging part as I have not spent enough time on a boat to visualize it very well. My first attempt at waves ended up looking more like flames. When I searched for inspiration, I found that other artists struggled with the water, too. Some of them simply ignored it. Others dealt with the water in the sculpture in a way that was too patterned and regular for what I wanted mine to look like. In the end I used torn pieces of paper that I curled with a hot curling iron. It was really wonderful getting a chance to work with Ethan like that. I would like to find more ways to do collaborative art with my kids.

I also love adding light to the sculpture. I used a tiny set of LED lights to accomplish this.

I carved out hidden channels to thread the copper wires between the edge of the book. the lighthouse and the boat. Lighting up the scene gives me a little thrill.

Ellie, my faithful encourager and avid photographer took great pictures of my piece before I delivered it. Kohlton says that this piece is his favorite piece of art that I have created, so far.

On my way to Two Hands, I stopped by Nick-n-Willie's pizza to pick up a slice of pizza. The college aged employees loved my art and took photos of it. I encouraged them to give it a try, if they like making fiddely, precise things, which I enjoy.

I spent the evening at Two Hands at a work session. I made other things since my book sculpture was done. In my next posting I will share photos of the other entries.

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Tonight I might make cheese enchiladas.

Cheese Enchiladas
via: Herdez

2 tablespoons canola oil
4 corn tortillas
1 cup Mexican cheese blend
(Sauteed Red Onions)
1 cup HERDEZ® Salsa Verde

For Garnish:
HERDEZ® Jalapeño Chiles
Cilantro

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 9x13­inch baking pan with canola cooking spray.
2. In medium­large pan, heat 4 corn tortillas. When finished, lay them on top of each other to
keep them soft and heated.
3. Add 2 tablespoons cheese to one end of tortilla; roll and place seam side down in baking
dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas and cheese.
4. Pour HERDEZ® Salsa Verde on top of enchiladas covering completely. Sprinkle remaining
cheese on top of enchiladas.
5. Bake 10 minutes. Garnish with jalapeño slices and cilantro.